PHIL TAYLOR came back from the dead to win a place in the PartyPoker.com semi-finals, then admitted: It's because I'm greedy.

PHIL TAYLOR came back from the dead to win a place in the PartyPoker.com semi-finals, then admitted: It's because I'm greedy.

The defending Slam champ trailed 5-1 to Australian Simon Whitlock but came powering back to win six successive legs and eventually went on to win 10-7 in a classic quarter-final clash in Wolverhampton.

Taylor now plays Mervyn King and is hungrier than ever to land the £100,000 top prize. He said: "I just simply love money, I love winning it, I love the buzz.

"This is an extremely tough event. To be honest I was dead and buried tonight against Simon. He could have easily gone on to beat me 10-1.

"But we went for a TV break and after he started missing a few doubles and I saw a weakness in him and exploited it. That's what I do.

"I prefer to lead games from the front obviously but I've had to sweat blood to battle back against Simon and it's a credit to him."

World No12 King booked his semi-final spot with a 10-8 defeat of BDO World Champion Mark Webster earlier in the night, while number two seed Raymond van Barneveld was dumped out by Terry Jenkins in a deciding leg.

Jenkins meets Gary Anderson in the other semi-final, after the Scot overcame Darryl Fitton 10-6.

• DYNAMIC darts star Mervyn King is ready to defy the credit crunch and pocket £100,000 at the PartyPoker.com Grand Slam.

The Norfolk thrower, namesake of the Bank of England boss, won through to the semi-finals of the Slam with a stunning 10-8 victory over Mark Webster in Wolverhampton.

It’s already been an emotional week for King who broke down in tears after beating Kevin McDine in the last round having attended the funeral of his aunt earlier in the day.

But now King is ready to rule. He said: “I’m fed up with people saying I’ve got the same name as the bloke who runs the Bank of England. I’ve had so many jibes since the credit crunch started.

“Almost every day someone comes up with a wise crack but it would be ironic if I won the £100,000 top prize - even the Bank of England boss would welcome that sort of cash right now!

“And if I do win I don’t care how many make jokes about my name because I’ll not stop smiling anyway.”

King has been one of the most improved players in the PDC this year and proved it with a win over the BDO world champion Webster.

King finished the stronger in a tight contest to edge out the Welshman averaging 100 for the match and hitting three key 180s in the final two legs.

He added: “I’m having a decent run and I’m delighted to be in the semi-finals. I don’t care who I get, if I keep playing my A game I’m not frightened of anyone.” (story source...)